Quick Guide to Practical Magick How to create a practical and results oriented ritual quickly and simply

By Dead Jellyfish Posted Tuesday, July 27, 2004

What follows is a brief and simple guide to Practical Magick and the steps involved in creating a Result Oriented Ritual œ that is a ritual focus on getting laid, getting rich, or getting even. The material that follows is presented under the psychological model of Magick œ that there are no external gods or beings assisting in the Magick ritual, that the work being done arises from the Self.

Step One: The Statement of Intent

The first and most important step in creating a ritual is making a Statement of Intent. It is desirable to make the Statement of Intent as precise as possible, while endeavouring to keep it simple. Excessive complication reduces the probability of success for the working. Statements of Intent such as "It is my Will to have a lover who is tall, intelligent, blonde, speaks Spanish, has a red car, drinks coffee, doesn't smoke, has two sisters, has no thumbs, loves animals, plays Dungeons and Dragons, likes video games, etc." have very poor odds of working.

While over complication is undesirable, so is the opposite. Being very vague will increases the odds of success greatly, but it will also increase the odds of achieving a result that is not desirable. A Statement of Intent such as "It is my Will to have a lover" will very likely be successful œ but that lover could be ugly, unintelligent, have a poor personality, or any of a number of other problems. Be careful what you ask for. You may just get it.

Step Two: Sigilization of the Statement of Intent

Humans are masochistic creatures. Although we have desires to be successful, wealthy, attractive and healthy œ we also have many hidden desires that are much darker. We often enjoy failure as much as we do success. You may not believe that people desire to fail, but if you look around and observe people, it is quite easy to see. People crave attention from other people, and failure is an easy way of getting attention.

"Oh whoa is me! My boyfriend left me. How will I ever get along without him? I can't possibly live without him. I'm so upset, boo hoo." People will hold onto losing a lover, getting fired, becoming ill, etc. for the sake of having something to complain about so that a sympathetic ear can listen.

These masochistic desires apply to Magick as well. For every Statement of Intent that we write there is a secret desire in the depths of the mind, to bring about the ruin of that desire. To get around the secret desire for failure we can trick our own mind into forgetting the Statement of Intent, using a Magick technique called Sigilization.

There are two basic kinds of Sigils: Pictograph Sigils, and Mantra Sigils. A Pictograph Sigil is a symbol constructed using elements that represent the Statement of Intent, yet do not directly resemble anything. A Mantra Sigil is a word or sentence made of nonsense sounds which were created from the Statement of Intent. For both kinds of Sigils the purpose is to have something that will symbolize the Statement of Intent and will be recognized by the subconscious mind but not by the conscious mind. Basic Sigil Construction How to Make a Sigil

By Dead Jellyfish Posted Saturday, July 31, 2004

There are two basic kinds of Sigils: Pictograph Sigils, and Mantra Sigils. A Pictograph Sigil is a symbol constructed using elements that represent the Statement of Intent, yet do not directly resemble anything. A Mantra Sigil is a word or sentence made of nonsense sounds which were created from the Statement of Intent. For both kinds of Sigils the purpose is to have something that will symbolize the Statement of Intent and will be recognized by the subconscious mind but not by the conscious mind.

Creating a Pictograph Sigil:

To create a Pictograph Sigil first we draw a picture that represents our Statement of Intent. Let's use the Statement of Intent, "It is my Will to earn money through having a book published."

First we draw a simple picture representing earning money through publishing a book:

Next we simplify the picture a little:

And then we simplify it further:

We now have a picture which is based upon our Statement of Intent but is abstract enough that the concept of "earning money through publishing a book" will not arise in the conscious mind while looking at the symbol.

Creating a Mantra Sigil:

To create a Mantra Sigil, first we write down our Statement of Intent. This time we will use:

It is my W ill to get a promotion at work. Next, we remove letters which are repeated:

It s my W l o ge a prn a k.

Then we combine these letters into some nonsense words:

Itsm ywlog geap rnak.

Rearrange the letters inside the words:M'tsi gowly pega kran

Step Three: Setting the Mood with an Opening Rite.

The next step in creating a ritual is choosing or creating a Banishing Rite to set the stage for the rest of the ritual. Traditionally, Banishings were used in Magickal Rituals as a kind of safe guard. In Medieval times most Magick was done from within the Christian paradigm -- and the forces summoned were feared. Banishings were used in that context as a form of protection against the forces summoned. Chaos Magickians, naturally, do not fear the god forms, demons and spirits that they call forth -- so the use of banishing as a form of protection from the beings evoked during ritual is unnecessary for Chaos Magickians. What, then is the role of banishing in a Chaos Magick ritual? I see banishing prior to and after ritual as like the terminals of a battery. The gnosis attained during the ritual is the juice of the battery, and the power being put into the ritual. The statement of intent is the electronic device being powered by the battery and the Banishings are the terminals of the battery, containing the power and focussing it toward the desired end.

To perform a Banishing, the Magickian œ using a weapon or her hand œ draws a barrier in the air around herself. Next, she focuses her will on an image œ the weapon in hand, mystical symbols, a glowing light coming from inside, all up to the taste of the Magickian. Using the power of the visualized object the Magickian then re-enforces the barrier by drawing symbols at the points of the barrier: pentagrams, the chaos star or other markings. Lastly, the Magickian stands for a moment in silence and silences her mind. Left Hand Path Banishing A Simple Banishing for LHP Workings

By Dead Jellyfish Posted Saturday, July 31, 2004

Here is a very simple banishing that I use before doing workings of a Left Hand Path nature. It helps the magickian enter a state of mind conducive to Left Hand Path workings. 1. Starting from the south, draw a sphere around yourself counter clockwise, with your left hand while visualizing the sphere in a colour of your choice.

2. Ring a bell nine times. A tuning fork also works very well. Note: when this banishing is used at the end of a ritual, the bell should be rung at the end instead.

3. Face the South. Take one step forward with your left foot and draw an inverted pentagram in the air with your left hand and say boldly the following:

"I call forth Satan who brought the Promethean gift of the apple." (Visualize the serpent offering you the apple of gnosis).

4. Turn towards the East. Take one step forward with your left foot and draw an inverted pentagram in the air with your left hand and say the following:

"I call forth Lucifer, the bringer of Light and Knowledge." (Visualize Lucifer rising, brilliant and triumphant)

5. Turn towards the North. Take one step forward with your left foot and draw an inverted pentagram in the air with your left hand and say the following:

"I call forth Belial, he who has no master." (Visualize a powerful demon who bows before no God but himself)

6. Turn towards the West. Take one step forward with your left foot and draw an inverted pentagram in the air with your left hand and say the following:

"I call forth Leviathan, the crocodile of the deep, the carnal animal of Chaos." (Visualize a crocodile with the eyes of a dragon)

7. Return to center of the sphere. Now you will invoke Set. (This part is should be skipped when this banishing is used at the end of a ritual.)

"I invoke Set, who nightly slays Apep. By destroying the imp of Chaos, I create freedom for myself. I have the freedom to create any order I desire for myself, and I have the freedom to destroy it. I have the power to change at Will, and through change I can Become."

8. Re-enforce the sphere by standing motionless in quiet meditation until gnosis is reached.

9. Laughter.

Step Four: Invocation or Evocation of a deity. Invocation is the act of calling forth a spirit into one's own body and evocation is the act of summoning a spirit externally to the Magickian. Using a psychological model of Magick œ these beings that are invoked and evoked do not exist in the objective universe. Rather, they are symbols representing various states of human consciousness. The god form used should be one related to the working and is a being that the Magickian relates with. It is not necessary to only use "traditional" god forms. Characters from movies and novels, comic books and role-playing games are all fair game. If the Magickian cannot find any suitable god forms for her working, she is even free to create new gods especially for the purpose of her working.

Invocation:

Invocation is useful for causing self - change. If the Statement of Intent involves some form of self transformation or changing one's environment then an invocation can be very effective. The Magickian invokes a deity who represents the state she is aspiring to. For example, to become more Disciplined Mars is a good deity to invoke. To be more attractive or a better lover, Aphrodite is a good goddess to invoke. Set works well as an invoked god form for nearly any working. Now, since it is a placebo type of effect that we are striving for here, it is important to really put forth an intense effort to become the deity being invoked. Visualized yourself as looking like the god form. Talk in a voice like how you imagine the god form would speak. Fake it until you make it. The goal is to whip yourself into a frenzied trance state where you œ for a brief moment œ actually believe you are the god form. It is in this frenzied trance state where the self- change happens at a subconscious level. You'll convince yourself that you really do have the properties of the god form that was invoked and carry it with you in everyday life.

Evocation:

Evocation is useful for external change: convincing your boss to give you that raise, meeting a new lover, getting revenge on an enemy. An object or a space on the floor with a shape or symbol drawn on it is used as the designated area for the evocation. The Magickian concentrates hard; visualizing the god form appearing in the designated area. She concentrates so hard that she actually believes the god form is really there. An offering is made to the god form: incense, food, drink, etc. and then the Magickian makes her request to the god form. If the deity that has been evoked is hostile to the Magickian then a long process of negotiating and bargaining can follow.

Both Invocation and Evocation:

In group rituals it can be both entertaining and productive to combine Invocation with Evocation. One Magickian in the group volunteers to be the Invoker and invokes the god form into herself while the other Magickians interact with her as an Evoked god form. They make their requests to the Invoker and act as if she actually is a god.

Step Five: Gnosis

Gnosis is the state of Magickal Trance. There are two types of Gnosis: Inhibitory and excitatory. Inhibitory gnosis is the silencing of the mind until only a single point of concentration remains œ often being the Sigil representing the Statement of Intent. Inhibitory Gnosis includes: silent meditation, holding the breath, sleep deprivation, fasting, object concentration, hypnotism, depressants like alcohol and sensory deprivation. Excitatory gnosis involves overstimulating the mind, bringing it to a very excited state while focussing on a single object œ again usually the Sigil representing the Statement of Intent. Methods of Excitatory Gnosis include: orgasm, extreme emotional states, pain, dancing, chanting, stimulants like a coffee, and sensory overload. A state of Gnosis is entered while invoking or evoking the god form, and the sigil is used as the point of focus. During the state of Gnosis the Sigil becomes active œ by focussing intensely on the Sigil while distracting the conscious mind the Sigil is imbedded into the subconscious mind where it can fulfill its purpose.

Step Six: Closing Rite.

Simply a repetition of the banishing from step three.

After the closing banishing the ritual is concluded with the statement, "So it is Done!" We use the words "So it is Done!" to represent the fact that it is our own Will that is performing the Magick œ not the Will of God or some ghost in the sky, but our own power.